The LRMA and Preclearance Act, 2016 entered into force on August 15, 2019.
In March 2015, Canada and the United States signed a new treaty entitled the Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine and Air Transport Preclearance between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States (LRMA), which was a commitment of the 2011 Beyond the Border Action Plan.
The LRMA provides for preclearance operations to be conducted in all modes of transport (i.e. land, rail and marine as well as air) as well as for cargo operations. Like the previous Air agreement, the LRMA permits either country to establish preclearance operations in the territory of the other country (i.e. Canada in the U.S. or the U.S. in Canada).
Canada’s treaty obligations under the Air agreement were implemented in Canadian law through the Preclearance Act of 1999. Similarly, Canada’s treaty obligations under the LRMA have been implemented in Canada through the modernized Preclearance Act, 2016.